Eugène-Louis Boudin

French, 1824–1898

La Baie de Portrieux, 1873

oil on canvas

Categories:

A devoted marine painter, often working in the en plein air tradition, Eugène-Louis Boudin was one of the early leaders of the Impressionists, and exhibited in the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874 in Paris. Born in the seaport town of Honfleur, Boudin, like many of the landscape painters of his generation, remained committed to exploring his craft outdoors, creating his own distinctive studies of the sea and sky. This wind-blown seascape of Portrieux is highlighted by the artist’s trademark brushwork, with the paint applied quickly and generously in order to capture the impression of the scene before him. The river view of Dordrecht, Holland, painted later, in 1884, reveals the artist’s preoccupation with the changing effects of cloud and natural light depending on the time of day or weather conditions. The impressive canopy of the cloud-filled sky, occupying two-thirds of the composition, affirms Boudin’s reputation as “master of the sky.”